The public is invited to attend any a public meeting on Feb. 7 in North Platte that Nebraska Public Power District is hosting to roll out its draft Integrated Resource Plan.

The draft IRP is scheduled to be posted online by Feb. 1 on the NPPD website.

The IRP is a comprehensive analysis of the types of energy resources NPPD may use to meet future electrical energy needs of its customers.

The meeting in North Platte is one of four public meetings that NPPD will hold around the state in February.

Completed in five-year intervals, NPPD's integrated resources plan is an economic planning tool, helping NPPD to protect customers from cost volatility while maintaining reliable electric service in the future.

The IRP identifies, under present and foreseeable conditions, the preferred mix of power generation resources (including renewable energy like wind power) and energy efficiency programs to meet forecasted energy needs of NPPD’s customers.

“The plan is a guideline that will help NPPD meet our customers’ future energy needs while ensuring reliability, minimizing their cost and anticipating risks related to how we serve them as a utility,” said NPPD Resource Planning and Risk Manager Jim Fehr. “The IRP will assist NPPD management and the Board of Directors in making decisions necessary to meet changing regulatory and market conditions.”